Bensalem nurse accused of assaulting 3-year-old, lawsuit claims prior abuse history
BENSALEM, PA – A Bucks County family has filed a negligence lawsuit against a home health care provider and a nurse accused of abusing their medically fragile 3-year-old daughter during overnight care, alleging the company ignored warning signs and a history of misconduct.
David and Meredith Nastasi claim Lincoln Healthcare Services LLC, doing business as Team Select Home Care, hired 58-year-old Cindy Desser despite what the lawsuit describes as a “long history” of abusing children. Desser now faces a criminal charge of endangering the welfare of a child in connection with the alleged incidents involving the couple’s daughter, identified as Z.N.
According to the filing, the child was born at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in October 2023 with severe medical conditions, including missing part of her rib cage, abdominal muscles, and a lung. After nine months in the hospital and six major surgeries, she returned home in late 2024 dependent on a ventilator and requiring constant nursing care.
“Z.N. was medically fragile and after all she had been through to just make it home, Z.N. needed to be cared for by nurses who were compassionate, kind, and attentive to her needs,” the lawsuit states. “Instead, Team Select sent a monster named Cindy Desser … into Plaintiffs’ home.”
Allegations of abuse and ignored warnings
The lawsuit alleges that on May 25, Desser “repeatedly choke slammed” the toddler with “such force that it rattled Z.N.’s crib and knocked over medical monitoring equipment.” It further claims Desser withheld the child’s tracheostomy tube after it became dislodged, delaying reinsertion while the girl struggled to breathe.
“Upon information and belief, Desser had a long history of abusing infants in her care and had worked stints with numerous other home health care companies that had either fired Desser or separated from Desser on poor terms by the time she was hired by Team Select in late 2024,” the lawsuit states.
Attorney Jeffrey P. Goodman, representing the family, said the company failed to act on red flags about the nurse’s conduct and fitness for the role. “David and Meredith Nastasi put their trust in the hands of a nurse whom Team Select represented to be compassionate and capable of safely caring for Z.N. Instead, Team Select sent a monster into their home. This is every parent’s worst nightmare,” Goodman said.
The lawsuit also alleges Desser frequently fell asleep during shifts, missing critical medical alarms. In one instance, Meredith Nastasi reportedly “rush[ed] into” her daughter’s room to wake Desser, who was asleep wearing headphones while an alert indicated the child’s oxygen levels had dropped below 85 percent.
Parents cite video evidence, prior concerns
Concerns escalated in October when the child’s mother noticed bruising on her inner thigh. Doctors later determined the mark resembled a thumbprint, according to an arrest affidavit cited in the case.
After reviewing surveillance footage from the child’s room, the parents allege they saw Desser striking the child and handling her roughly in the crib. The footage also reportedly showed the nurse delaying reinsertion of the breathing tube while telling the child, “you did this,” as she gasped for air.
The lawsuit claims the parents had previously raised concerns about Desser’s performance, including inadequate documentation of the child’s vital signs, but that Team Select failed to address the issues.
Desser was later employed by another home health agency while out on bail and is accused in the lawsuit of abusing another medically fragile child in Bucks County.
The child’s parents, speaking to WPVI, described the emotional toll of watching the footage. “This was the most disturbing one. Thank God my daughter is so strong,” the mother said. “It was just horrific. I just couldn’t believe it. It’s like almost like monsters come out at night.”
The father added, “All our little girl did was sit up and look at her for a minute and she got shoved to the ground. It’s really sick and horrible.”
Desser has since been fired, according to reports. Her next court appearance is scheduled for April 7.
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